Taking Cleaning Carbon Neutral

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16 May 2019

Lara Coutinho, ABM UK’s newly appointed Environment and Sustainability Manager, reflects on the path to going carbon neutral.

Coutinho writes: In the contemporary marketplace, green initiatives are not just about acting responsibly for local communities and future generations, they are also essential to remaining competitive.

This is why sustainability accreditations such as the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification (LEED) and ABM's own GreenCare credential are designed to support customers to reach their green targets, whether that’s for cleaning products that minimise environmental and air pollution, lowering the energy involved in waste disposal or minimising the amount of water used in cleaning.

However, it’s not enough to help others - we also need to ensure we’re walking the walk ourselves.

 

Carbon neutral

One of my aims over the next two to five years is to focus on ways in which ABM UK can move toward becoming carbon neutral. This means minimising (and eventually stopping production of) carbon dioxide (CO₂), the greenhouse gas that increases acidity in the oceans and contributes to the planet’s warming.

Where we produce CO₂ in our cleaning operations and running our business generally we are exploring initiatives to support our sustainability targets, from planting trees and biodiverse landscaping to site-specific technical solutions, created in alignment with our customers' values. 

ABM UK will also be continuing to champion the benefits of eco-friendly cleaning products to our customers and the wider FM industry.

 

Olympian

My experience in planning and operational roles at major sporting events, including the rigorous testing grounds of the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, drummed home to me the benefits of these products. Not only do they clean to high standards, they also reduce energy and operating costs, protect air quality, preserve natural resources and enhance brand reputation.

We’ll also look at ways to optimise and roll out the excellent ABM products already in existence, driving greater usage and pick up. This includes continuing the switch to renewable energy sources, something already started through our partnership with Bulb Energy, the clean energy providers, and our internal GreenShop programme which gives employees subsidised access to eco-friendly products.

 

Bio-digestor

Another focus area is innovation and the new systems addressing carbon emissions, water use and waste disposal in exciting ways. The team behind BioWhale, a bio-digestor for food waste, for example, is doing an excellent job supporting our cleaning contract at Cabot Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol. Biowhale works by sending food waste to anaerobic digestion to be converted into electric or gas energy and fertiliser.

 

Taking the pledge

Finally, we’ll also focus on behaviour change and shifting people’s actions on a consistent, day-to-day basis. Often people don’t see how the things they do every day can help the overall picture. Perceptions can be entrenched. A small thing that can make a big difference includes introducing a pledge wall for our teams.  A pledge wall asks individuals to leave a visual record of their commitments to making a difference, which can be simple things such as 'I will avoid single use plastic, ” or “I will ensure I’m recycling properly'. Through the pledge wall, our teams and our customers can start to see what’s possible, have a degree of accountability and begin to see the potential of their own ability to enact positive change.

Picture: ABM UK’s newly appointed Environment and Sustainability Manager.

Article written by Lara Coutinho | Published 16 May 2019

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